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☆ Increasing Law Department Diversity
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Michelle Graham | Practical Law | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +17 min

Create a law department DEI committee consisting of diverse law department employees to:evaluate the law department’s DEI status; develop a plan and a budget to increase or maintain law department diversity; and monitor and promote the success of the law department’s DEI initiatives. Incentivize law department employees to refer diverse candidates for job openings by paying them a referral bonus if the law department hires those candidates. Retaining Diverse Law Department EmployeesWhile recruiting and hiring diverse employees for the law department requires continuous effort, retaining them once hired presents another challenge. Discuss initiatives the law department has taken to increase and maintain DEI in the law department, such as creating a DEI hiring committee. (For more on how law departments can improve DEI at their outside law firms, see Increasing Law Firm Diversity and Increasing Law Firm Diversity: Presentation Materials on Practical Law; for general guidance on working with outside counsel, see Working Effectively with Outside Counsel Checklist on Practical Law.)

☆ Opinion: Six experts imagine an internet that women actually want
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Cnn Opinion | As Equals | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Women still have less access to the internet, with men being 21% more likely to be online than women globally. One reason for this is because being a girl, teenager, woman, trans or non-binary person makes us victims of digital violence. An internet women want is one where there is no fear to comment, to express an opinion, or publish photos of our bodies -- and where there are no limits simply because you are a woman on the internet. Women stood together internationally when Iranian women cut their hair , showing how the internet politicises women, sparks debates and builds international solidarity. Therefore, an internet that women want -- and that works for women -- needs to start by being affordable for women.

Britain's National Cybersecurity Centre (NCSC), part of its GCHQ eavesdropping spy agency, said in a report published on Wednesday that the mercenary hacking market was offering products that were on par with government hacking groups. On Tuesday, Canadian internet watchdog group Citizen Lab published a report which said that NSO had been caught using newly-discovered hacking tools to break into iPhones belonging to Mexican human rights defenders in 2022. At least some in the spyware industry see regulation coming down the pipe and are taking steps to try to shape it. NSO has long touted its human rights policy despite repeated allegations that its software has been used abusively, including to spy on victims of human rights violations. NSO did not immediately return an email seeking comment on the Citizen Lab report or its communications with the American Bar Association.

☆ Off-the-radar destinations every China visitor should consider
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Maggie Hiufu Wong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

JingdezhenLarge chimneys, used for firing porcelain, dot the skyline of Jingdezhen city. gui yong nian/Adobe StockDubbed the porcelain capital of the world, Jingdezhen has been firing quality pieces of “white gold” for more than 1,700 years. For a crash course in the city’s porcelain history, visit the newly built and photogenic Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum of China. LinhaiLinhai's historic city wall stretches more than 6,000 meters in length. Food aside, travelers should leave time to admire this historic city that dates back more than 2,000 years.

☆ Key lawmakers say upcoming hearings on bank failures aim to boost U.S. confidence in banking sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of lawmakers overseeing the recent turmoil in the banking sector said Wednesday that they aim to increase Americans' confidence in the banking industry after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed over the last two weeks. Regulators and lawmakers are also trying to contain further damage to the economy and reinforce confidence in the banking system. Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican and ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, also said writing new laws should take a back seat at the hearings to investigating what happened. We can't legislate that either in the financial sector or among financial institutions management, nor with the regulators." Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat and chairman of Senate Banking Committee, compared the SVB collapse to the devastating train crash in East Palestine, Ohio.

☆ The founder of Elemy raised more than $200 million to provide better autism therapy for kids. Now he's ditching patient care to chase billions selling healthcare software.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Yakubchyk told Insider that the venture studio is separate from Elemy and that he's only passively involved in it. Now they have to email a help desk, which takes longer and is less helpful, three behavior analysts said. Yakubchyk told Insider, however, that the company is still in the early stages of finding the right model for the long term. In the meeting, Tim Eby, Elemy's president, told analysts that running their own businesses would offer them more "empowerment." At Elemy, clinicians who leave largely aren't being replaced because everyone in clinical recruiting has been laid off.

☆ U.S. CFPB's bid to curb late credit card fees faces strong opposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Niket Nishant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Fitch identified Discover Financial Services (DFS.N), Capital One Financial (COF.N), Synchrony Financial (SYF.N) and Bread Financial Holdings (BFH.N) among those at risk. Credit card companies typically rely on late fees to act as a bulwark against spending volumes tapering off when the economic environment is tough. If the CFPB's rule is implemented in its current form, it could reduce those fees by as much as 75% annually, the agency said. Michael Taiano, senior analyst at Fitch Ratings, said card companies could potentially resort to legal action to delay enforcement of these rules. "They could also respond by introducing other fees, like statement charges, which would charge a customer every time they request a statement," Taiano said.

☆ Justice Department Hiring Dozens of New Prosecutors to Enforce Russian Sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Dylan Tokar | Ian Talley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The new prosecutors will work with corporations to investigate sanctions and export control evasion, and also bring criminal charges against companies when they commit violations, he said. Some of the additional prosecutors are new hires, while some are being reallocated from different sections, according to officials. The U.A.E.’s enforcement of sanctions differs between the emirates, officials say, as the separate governments treat the sanctions with varying degrees of compliance. For their part, Justice Department officials have pointed to a growing nexus between their work on corporate crime and national security. In addition to hiring more prosecutors, Mr. Olsen said the counterintelligence section would also hire a lawyer to advise on investigations involving corporations.

☆ Banking Group Asks Treasury to Withdraw Ownership Database Proposal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Dylan Tokar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

The American Bankers Association was one of the biggest proponents of a new corporate ownership registry, saying it hoped the project would help cut regulatory costs for its members. The legislation approved by Congress outlines a range of civil and criminal penalties for individuals or entities that fail to disclose ownership information, or that intentionally disclose inaccurate information. To use the database, banks would have to identify and correct discrepancies, which would require additional staff and resources, the group said. FinCEN’s proposal is its second related to the new ownership database. The Treasury bureau has said it would issue a third rule addressing banks’ due diligence obligations related to the database.

☆ ABA Passes Resolution Opposing Suspicious-Transaction Reporting Rule for Lawyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Dylan Tokar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The association also is considering changes to its professional conduct rules around the vetting of clients. The ABA’s rules for professional conduct are typically used as a basis for the rules enforced by state courts, which serve as primary regulators of the legal trade. Under current rules, lawyers have an ethical obligation to keep confidential all information relating to the representation of their clients. Requiring lawyers to report suspicious transactions by their clients also could undermine attorney-client privilege, the group argued in their resolution. Those committees are expected to file a resolution at the annual meeting of the ABA’s policy arm later this year.

☆ Legal Association Deals Setback to LSAT-Optional Law School Admissions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Erin Mulvaney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The test-optional policy was on track to go into effect for students applying for admission to law schools in 2026. The American Bar Association’s policy-making body on Monday rejected a proposal to make the LSAT and other standardized tests optional for law school admissions, casting a cloud over a change that has prompted debate about diversity in the legal profession. The test-optional policy appeared to clear a major hurdle in November when an ABA panel that accredits law schools approved it. It was on track to go into effect for students applying for admission to law schools in 2026. But the ABA’s House of Delegates voted down the policy Monday and sent it back to the accrediting body for further consideration.

☆ Controversial noncompetes now face a possible ban. But one group never had to worry about them: attorneys
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The FTC estimates that about 30 million workers are bound by noncompete agreements across the US. However, an American Bar Association rule has long protected lawyers from being forced to sign the agreements. The American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct protects lawyers from being forced to sign noncompetes. The ABA's rule contrasts with a similar rule from the American Medical Association that discourages medical professionals from signing noncompetes, but does not ban them. Earlier this month, recruiters told Insider that doing away with noncompete agreements could lead to another wave of employees leaving for better opportunities, or to start their own businesses.

☆ Taiwan's remote islands are on the frontline with China — sometimes only a few hundred yards from Chinese troops
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Taiwan is roughly 100 miles from mainland China, but some Taiwanese islands are much closer. Taiwan's outlying islands would stand little chance against China, but they wouldn't be easy to take. While celebrated, this year's anniversary was also a reminder of Taiwan's islands' growing vulnerability to Chinese attack. Taiwan's islands are much easier to reach. Tourists watch a Chinese military helicopter fly over Pingtan Island, one of mainland China's closest points to Taiwan, on August 4.

☆ China's military has been spending a lot more time working on how to forcefully capture an island, Pentagon says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

China's military has been increasingly practicing seizing islands, the Pentagon says. The US has accused China of engaging in aggressive behavior around Taiwan and in the South China Sea. As an extensive assessment of China's military might, the report outlines the threat that China poses to the self-ruled democratic island of Taiwan. In addition to Beijing's longstanding focus on Taiwan, China also holds competing claims to islands and reefs in the South China Sea, where China has been building military outposts and strengthening its position. Earlier this month, Vice President Kamala Harris made a rare trip to a South China Sea hotspot, specifically the Philippine island of Palawan, which overlooks contested areas in the strategic waterway.

☆ Law Schools Without LSATs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The flight from merit continues across America, and it’s spreading fast in the legal profession. An arm of the American Bar Association (ABA), which accredits law schools, voted on Nov. 18 to end the requirement that prospective law students take the Law School Admission Test. And here we thought torturing prospective lawyers was a widely accepted public good. The vote is pending approval from the ABA House of Delegates in February. If adopted, it would make standardized testing optional in preparation for a career that demands a lot of standardized knowledge.

☆ Law School Accrediting Panel to Consider Making LSAT Optional
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Erin Mulvaney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An American Bar Association accrediting council could vote Friday to eliminate the requirement of a ‘valid and reliable admission test’ for hopeful law students. An American Bar Association panel on Friday will consider whether to allow law schools to drop a requirement that applicants take the LSAT or another standardized admissions test, amid debate about whether the tests help or hurt diversity in admissions. The accrediting council, made up of lawyers, professors and administrators, could vote at its meeting to eliminate the requirement of a “valid and reliable admission test” for hopeful law students. The panel sought public comment on the proposal in May, after an ABA committee recommended the elimination of the testing requirement.

☆ Law School Accrediting Panel Votes to Make LSAT Optional
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Erin Mulvaney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An American Bar Association accrediting council voted Friday to eliminate the requirement of a ‘valid and reliable admission test’ for hopeful law students. An American Bar Association panel voted Friday to drop a requirement that law school applicants take the LSAT or another standardized admissions test, amid debate about whether the tests help or hurt diversity in admissions. The accrediting council, made up of lawyers, professors and administrators, voted at its meeting to eliminate the requirement of a “valid and reliable admission test” for hopeful law students. The panel sought public comment on the proposal in May, after an ABA committee recommended the elimination of the testing requirement.

Summary Other large jurisdictions saw pass rate declinesNew York bucked the trend(Reuters) - California this week joined Texas and Florida in posting a pass rate decline on the July 2022 bar exam. For first-time test takers, the pass rate fell to 62% this year from 71% in 2021. Its overall July pass rate fell 10 percentage points to 51%, while its first-time pass rate declined 8 percentage points to 64% this year. Law schools with low pass rates risk losing their American Bar Association accreditation, and low pass rates can constrain the entry-level hiring pool for legal employers. Read more:Bar exam pass rate rises in New York, falls in FloridaLatest bar exam software glitch puts some test takers in a bindOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Jack Rives in 2010 became executive director of the ABA, the nation’s largest voluntary bar association, overseeing an operation that now has 166,000 dues-paying members and a staff of more than 1,000. The ABA said deputy executive director Alpha Brady will take over temporarily from Rives while it seeks a permanent replacement. He also eliminated $42 million in annual expenses by restricting the ABA staff and reducing other operating expenses, it said. The group lost about 56,000 dues-paying members between 2009 and 2019, prompting it to overhaul its membership structure that year in a bid to make it less complex, more affordable, and more appealing to lawyers. Attracting members remains a top priority, Rives told the ABA’s House of Delegates when it met in August.

CNN —Red Bull driver Max Verstappen finished in first place at the Mexican Grand Prix to claim his record-setting 14th win of the season on Sunday. Earlier in October, Verstappen claimed his second career world championship at the Japanese Grand Prix, and last week he won the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, which saw him share the record for number of season race wins. Red Bull pitted their drivers first, opting for medium tires while Hamilton fitted hard tires so that he would not have to pit again. RBR were found to have breached the cost cap by £432,652 ($501,409). That comes in from now, it has a direct effect on next year’s car and it will be in place for a 12-month period.”Two races remain on the F1 calendar for Verstappen to add to his record tally with the Brazilian Grand Prix scheduled on November 13 and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 20.

☆ They were on the run from the Taliban, abandoned by their US allies — until a Wall Street banker decided to smuggle them out of Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Nina Burleigh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

His daughter worked for the US-backed government in Kabul, prosecuting the Taliban and their followers for acts of violence against women. The war in Afghanistan effectively began on 9/11, with the attacks on Wall Street and the Pentagon. Last summer, when the Taliban overran Kabul, Calbos was in Greece visiting his father. "I see kind of a mirror image to mine in his history and his family," Calbos says. With the clock ticking on the family's temporary visas, Calbos scrambled to arrange a flight out of Pakistan.

☆ SoftBank-backed Elemy aimed to transform autism care. But current and former employees say the $1.15 billion startup overpromised on its capacity to treat kids.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

Elemy, a $1.15 billion startup, promised families and healthcare providers quick access to autism care for kids. The current and former Elemy employees who spoke to Insider for this story requested anonymity because they feared retaliation from the company. ABA therapy, while somewhat controversial, is the most widely used treatment to teach kids with autism new skills and discourage challenging behaviors. At the direction of leadership, Elemy employees on the business-development team told those organizations to send their kids with autism, according to four former employees directly involved in forming referral relationships. Each ABA company performs its own expensive, time-consuming behavior assessments, and some insurers pay for only one assessment every six months, he said.

☆ Expert național Elaborare foaie de parcurs CNAJGS
▼ + stars: | 2021-07-02 | by ( Alte Articole | ) www.civic.md time to read: +3 min

Scopul realizării activității este eficientizarea sistemului, îmbunătățirea calității prestate de către avocați și alți subiecți parte a sistemului asistenței juridice garantate de stat. Stabilirea unei metodologii de evaluare a eficienței sistemului asistenței juridice garantate de stat3. Studiul al cadrului normativ referitor la sistemul asistenței juridice garantate de stat4. Studiu comparat asupra prevederilor și bunelor practici internaţionale referitoare la sistemul asistenței juridice garantate de stat5. În procesul de prestare a serviciilor, experții selectați vor comunica direct cu staff-ul ABA ROLI, CNAJGS și cu echipa de proiect.

Persons: Justiției, ABA ROLI Organizations: ABA, ABA ROLI Moldova, ABA ROLI Locations: Moldova, SUA, Bureau, ABA ROLI Moldova

☆ Expert național standardele de calitate ale activității avocaților AJGS
▼ + stars: | 2021-07-02 | by ( Alte Articole | ) www.civic.md time to read: +4 min

Efectuarea unui studiu comparat asupra prevederilor și bunelor practici internaţionale referitoare la standardele de calitate pe cauzele cu implicarea victimelor infracțiunilor. Formularea standardelor de calitate pe cauzele cu implicarea victimelor infracțiunilor, prin prisma studiului legislației și practicilor naționale;6. Formularea recomandărilor specifice pentru implementarea standardelor de calitate pe cauzele cu implicarea victimelor infracțiunilor, inclusiv modificări ale legislaţiei naţionale, ori alte mijloace de implementare. Evaluarea impactului implementării standardelor de calitate pe cauzele cu implicarea victimelor infracțiunilor. Experienţă profesională:Cel puțin 5 ani de experiență în domeniul juridic;Experiență în efectuarea cercetărilor şi elaborare de studii;Experiență profesională specifică privind examinarea cauzelor cu implicarea victimelor infracțiunilor.

Persons: Justiției, ABA ROLI Organizations: ABA, ABA ROLI Moldova, ABA ROLI Locations: Moldova, SUA, Bureau, ABA ROLI Moldova

☆ Asociaţia Obştească SOS Autism solicită ofertă pentru selectarea unei companii pentru servicii de producere a emisiunilor radio
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-28 | by ( Alte Articole | ) www.civic.md time to read: +5 min

Asociaţia Obştească SOS Autism solicită ofertă pentru selectarea unei companii pentru servicii de producere a emisiunilor radioÎn perioada iulie 2018 - decembrie 2021, ADRA Moldova cu Asociația Obştească „SOS Autism" (A.O. „SOS Autism”. Relevanța proiectului este ridicată datorită numărului tot mai mare de copii cu autism și a altor tulburări genetice diagnosticate în întreaga lume. Scopul proiectului menționat mai sus este creșterea calității și disponibilității serviciilor oferite copiilor cu autism și altor tulburări genetice și părinților/îngrijitorilor acestora în Republica Moldova. „SOS Autism” solicită oferta financiară a unei companii pentru prestare a serviciilor de producere a emisiunilor radio.

Persons: Asociaţia, Irina Stoian Locations: Moldova, Cehia, Republica Moldova

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